U.S. Pat. No. 489,107 was awarded to Carl August Guido Storz on Jan. 3, 1893 which discloses a sleeve which accepts sealing rings in a recessed groove. A split ring is used to keep the sleeve mounted with respect to the ring (locking collar). The ring includes hooks (connecting lugs) and inclined lips. The Storz '107 patent discloses the use of two coupling halfs together with each coupling half comprising a ring (locking collar) and a sealing ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,985 to Terzini is a contemporary edition of the Storz coupling disclosing and claiming a pivot pin which is mounted through a lug. U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,997 to Ebert discloses a rotatable cam ring which rotates relative to a hose connection piece. The hose connection piece includes a sealing ring secured by a holding ring.
Storz was the pioneer in this technology and the evolution of the technology is evidenced by the patents to Terzini and to Ebert. FIGS. 1, 2, 2A, 2B, 3 and 4 disclosed herein represent another evolution of the technology which is known to those skilled in the art. These figures depict a locking collar 1 (sometimes referred to as a Storz collar) in combination with a seal ring 2. Two pieces are necessary because of the manufacturing process used to make the coupling halfs.
The prior art locking collar 1 and seal ring 2 are separately cast, machined and threaded. The prior art employs three molds as illustrated in FIG. 12 to cast the Storz collar. The molds for the seal ring 2 are not shown but yield a part having a cross-sectional shape as indicated in FIG. 2C. The seal ring is threaded to the Storz collar and adhesive is applied to the threaded interconnection to permanently secure the seal ring to the Storz collar and to prevent leaks from the hose.
It is the lip which is sometimes referred to as the ramp (reference numerals 9, 10, 11 and 12 of FIG. 2) which necessitates that the mold from which the Storz collar is made comprises three parts. But for the lip, ramp and stop, the seal ring and the prior art Storz collar could be made as one piece from a two part mold. The lip, ramp and stop coact with the connecting lugs of another coupling half to lock the two coupling halfs together as is well known in the art. The prior art Storz collar necessitates that it be made from a three part mold and that a companion seal ring be separately molded.